‘Game of politics’: FIFA scandal has nothing to do with corruption or sports

The FIFA scandal has nothing to do with sports or corruption, and has turned into a game of politics full of propaganda and demagogy in geopolitical and strategic interests of the US and its allies in the West, geopolitical analyst Eric Draitser, told RT.

RT:There was widespread condemnation and criticism from some
state leaders and then large-corporations with regards to Sepp
Blatter’s leadership, but he was still re-elected. Why do the
voters prefer him?

Eric Draitser: Well I think there are a number
of reasons, but I would just begin by saying that I don’t think
any of these reasons have [anything] to do with his competency in
running FIFA, nor do they really have to do with anything related
to sports.

It is entirely a game of politics. And I think those sport
federations, be they in the US, or Western Europe that spoke
against Mr. Blatter, I think they mainly spoke against him
because of the political line of the countries that they
represent. Of course, I think, his grave sin in the eyes of
Western players in this equation was a awarding World Cup to
Russia, and also to a large extent not shielding Qatar from a lot
of the criticism it has received. I think both of these things to
a large extend really caused these problems.

Also the timing comes into question here. I mean, just on the eve
of the vote to possibly ban Israel from FIFA, all of a sudden you
have the United States, Israel's staunchest ally, coming out with
indictments, coming out with public knowledge of this
investigation into the corruption.

All of this is far too convenient for anybody who does not really
believe in coincidences. So I think there is this element of
Russia, because part of this of course is a propaganda campaign.
We have seen the Western media going after Russia really since
the beginning of conflict in Ukraine on all fronts. Just as we
saw John McCain earlier this week making wild accusations about
FIFA being in bed with Russia. Of course all of this is tied
together with this Russia bashing. And I think that needs to be
seen in that context, rather than in the context of sports.

RT:British police have opened their own
probe into the FIFA corruption arrests. And the UK Prime Minister
has said Sepp Blatter should go. Was this an attempt to swing the
vote?

ED: Absolutely it is an attempt to swing it. It
is an attempt to demonize Mr. Blatter. It is an attempt to
demonize all of those forces that were supporting him. And it is
interesting that Cameron would make such a statement when under
Mr. Cameron’s watch all of those corrupt officials involved in
the Libor scandal, all of the corrupt banking officials in the
city of London, all of these really wealthy powerful oligarchs
who have supported Cameron, all of them have gotten off scot
free. None of them are sitting in jail. All of them are clearly
guilty of corruption, and yet we don’t hear such words from Mr.
Cameron on those issues.

Again this come back to the issue of being politically motivated.
The agenda of the UK just as the agenda of the US is to demonize
any individual or any country or any politician who dares to
stand behind Vladimir Putin, who dares to stand behind Russia or
China, or any of the non-Western world. And I think this is
reflected in this vote. You see that there is a clear divide
between East and West in terms of who voted for Blatter and who
voted for Prince Ali.

And again I think it is also interesting that it is Jordanian
Prince Ali who gets this backing from the West. Because of course
he is well regarded as a western crony, somebody who represents
the interests of the US, the UK and Western Europe. And I think
this is clearly an unmistakably part of this.

And would also add that while they are talking about corruption,
I have not heard any of these people talking about 4,000 workers
dying in Qatar since the world cup was awarded to that country in
preparation for 2022. That does not seem to be on the table.
Qatar is still perfectly in line to have their World Cup in a few
years’ time. And so if they really want to talk about cleaning
out FIFA, perhaps they should look at the human cost of the cup
in a place like Qatar, rather than demonizing Mr. Blatter because
he might have the support of Putin or anybody else.

RT:What now then, if it is the case of West
against East, well the West lost then, because as they say he is
still in charge of FIFA? But what now? What more can be done,
because as we know the probe is still ongoing for the people that
have been arrested, and there is still questions about Moscow and
Qatar as well. How else can Blatter or FIFA be targeted by the
West, if we say that much? Sponsorship there are slightly at risk
aren't they?

ED: Well to some extent. But look, at the end of
the day those sponsorship and corporations they are only
interested in one thing, and that is their bottom line. Speaking
as an American in a country that is renowned in its lack of
interest in international soccer, I can tell you that the world
is very much addicted to this sport. The World Cup by far is
still the biggest sporting event. Soccer is still internationally
regarded as the premier sport. And I don't think that any
corporations is really going to blink at being a sponsor for this
major, major sport.

So I don't really buy into this notion that international
football or soccer is somehow under threat. What I do think is
interesting thought is the future of this sport needs to be
cleaned up. The leadership certainly needs to be cleaned up. And
I don’t think anyone would deny that there is obviously
corruption issues involved in this bureaucracy. But that is true
of all the sports. Here in the US, you look at the NFL, they had
dozens of scandals involving their own corruption, involving
cheating and many other things.

So again, they are trying to take a sports issue and a corruption
issue and making it into a political and a geopolitical issue.
And I think nothing makes it more clearer than John McCain’s
statements just the other day about why the World Cup needs to be
taken away from Russia. It is purely for propaganda and demagogy,
not because it has anything to do with corruption.

So, moving forward, FIFA, sure they can clean themselves up. They
need to have new people under Mr. Blatter. They need to have a
transition once he decides to go. All these things needs to
happen, but for right now the main issue is the way in which this
has been politicized for geological and strategic reasons by the
US and its allies in the West.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.